


And Time Goes On

by WriterSky20



Category: Katekyou Hitman Reborn!, Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Blood and Gore, Dimension Travel, F/M, From an Adult Body to a Child, M/M, Married than not, Violence, i'll add more as we go along, probably
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-15
Updated: 2020-06-06
Packaged: 2021-03-01 17:00:41
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 18,936
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23660458
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WriterSky20/pseuds/WriterSky20
Summary: Minato had a perfectly happy life with Giotto and his merry-band of Vigilantes. However, a Contingency Plan got turned into something he actually had to do. Now, he has to re-live his life starting all over again as a child without his usual support group. Why is this his life?Bad enough that he had to abandon the only connection he had left to Giotto, his lover from the other world, other than the bag and clothes on his back that he brought with him to fit in better with this apparently Japanese culture and language only world he's found himself in. And he liked his old name, Anika di Vongola...This better be worth it.
Relationships: Giotto | Vongola Primo & Namikaze Minato, Giotto | Vongola Primo & Vongola First Generation Guardians, Giotto | Vongola Primo/Namikaze Minato, Namikaze Minato & Uzumaki Kushina, Namikaze Minato/Uzumaki Kushina
Kudos: 23





	1. Losing Time and Love

In the Vongola Mansion, Italy,

Giotto sits in his office, working on the bane of all boss’ existence, paperwork. His cloak thrown over the chair behind him, tie loosened, and front shirt button open, he stress-reads and signs/stamp-vetoes the paperwork in front of him. A screech of frustration and despair leaves him when G walks into the room with another stack of paperwork.

There isn’t enough room on the desk so G sets it down in front of the desk next to another stack. He straightens up and sighs. Giotto has started to weep in sorrow, knowing that he will have to pull another all-nighter to get this paperwork finished before next week.

G smiles in pity at Giotto, “Sorry, Giotto. But if you get this finished by tomorrow, that leaves you time to spend with Anika.” Giotto perks up immediately and starts speeding through the paperwork with renewed energy. “That is if everybody’s missions go well.”

A dark aura surrounds Giotto immediately, just barely managing to avoid snapping his pen at the thought. “G~, go tell the others to do a good job, not fail or cause any damage or anything that could bring me more paperwork other than their mission report – or else they will be the ones to pay and do the paperwork of anything else that happens during their mission.” G sweats nervously at the dark aura, remembering the Last Time, and agrees immediately.

G leaves the room (“no, I did not run!”) as a happy aura once more surrounds Giotto at the thought of spending time with Anika.

Anika di Vongola is Giotto’s husband of 5 years, married since before he created their vigilante group and lovers since they were 14. Anika is a 23-year-old man, he has spiky, blond hair with two strands that end at his jaw and some strands that reach his mid-back which he usually puts in a mid-ponytail. He has kind yet sharp sapphire blue eyes and sweet smile. The town which Vongola protects love Anika and he loves the town. He wears an orange dress shirt, black trousers, grey suspenders, a necklace with the rock used to make the Vongola rings as the pendent tied around his neck, his marriage ring on his left hand, simple slip-on shoes when he’s not working and boots when he is working, and a knee-length, black cloak similar to Giotto’s cloak except his has his family’s crest (a circular windwave surrounded in orange flame-like leaf design with a shield behind it) etched in the back. On the left sleeve of his cloak is the Vongola Crest done up in silver to symbolize the type of unity between Anika’s family and Giotto’s family (which is marriage).

Giotto loves Anika and Anika loves Giotto. It’s a fact all of the town knows and doesn’t dispute for it is obvious in the way they look at each other and interact. You would have to be a true idiot to not see how much they love each other. Giotto would burn the world if it might his love’s happiness and Anika would break the world if it means he gets to stay by Giotto’s side.

This was a fact of life the town has long since accepted. They aren’t going to tell their protectors how to live their lives. (Those who tried are dead. Not by the hands of the protectors for they do not care what the town thinks but by the townsfolk themselves for they are not going to allow anybody to take their protectors’ happiness from them, not after everything Vongola has done for the town. You know things are really horrible when 19th century small town Italian folk don’t stop a homosexual couple from getting together and getting married especially when said homosexual couple is about of the group that’s protecting them from most of the horrible things.)

Thanks to his paperwork, Giotto has not had a chance to spend time with his husband the way they used to before Vongola in a while. Hell, they haven’t even gotten to sleep in the same bed, much less the same room for the past few months alone thanks to the paperwork. Anika and Giotto are both pissed.

Speaking of Anika, he is currently in the kitchen cooking dinner. His sleeves are rolled up to the elbows, cloak hanging on one of the hooks near the kitchen outside servants door. The servants had tried to stop him, citing that they would take care of dinner but he had stopped them. Told them to go and spend time with their families, he wants to make dinner this time. Knowing how stubborn Master Anika can be, the kitchen staff reluctantly agreed and went home. Not because they didn’t think Master Anika can cook – no, they know full well how good he is at cooking and baking – but because they liked helping the people that protected their town (and also the Vongola pay their helpers and servants really well and some of them need the money. But it’s mostly because they like helping the Vongola in any way they can).

He chops and dices up the tomatoes and adds them to the sauce pan burning on the stove oven, mixing and stirring the tomatoes, the spices, the minced garlic, the olive oil, and the tomato sauce. He adds a tablespoon of brown sugar to soften the taste for the little ones among their street urchins turned informants who haven’t yet developed a taste for Italian spices and need some sugar to make the taste sweeter for them. He mixes and mixes until it looks like a single ingredient. And smiles as he turns to the lasagna noodles to check up on them. He grabs a single small noodle and throws it at the wall, nodding in satisfaction when it sticks to the wall. “Done.” He takes the noodle off the wall and returns it to the pan of boiling water and lasagna noodles. Stirs for a little while more then turns off the noodles’ fire, takes the pan, pours it into the sink with the noodles. The noodles land in the metal colander (cooking bowl with holes), he returns the pan to the stove, turns on the faucet to cold water, rinses the noodles while shaking the bowl to get the water out and to get the water on all of the noodles to cool them down enough to where he can touch them and not burn his fingertips. Once done, he takes the colander over to the counter and dumps the noodles onto the cooking broad. He throws the colander back into the sink – the actual Vongola cooks back in their home have the sudden urge to wail in dismay as if someone had used their cooking utensils inappropriately, like yeeting them into the sink. Then gets to work in moving the noodles onto the oven pan, cutting them down in length if they didn’t fit. He put the three noodles into the medium sized pan, turned off and moved the big sauce pan over to the counter onto already set down oven pads. He took the tomato sauce and spread it then added the ricotta cheese then mozzarella cheese. He repeated this process until he reached the top of the pan which he ended with more mozzarella cheese on top than what he put before.

He nods in satisfaction. Just when he was about to take the pan and put it into the wood burning oven to cook for 27 minutes, a pair of arms wrapped themselves around his waist. Anika automatically grabbed the knife and was about to turn around and stab the person who dared to sneak up on him and hug him. Then he caught the offender’s scent and immediately relaxed, sighing in relief. “Giotto,” He leans against his husband and sets down the knife, “I almost stabbed you. Again. One of these days I’m not gonna register your scent or your body until I’ve already entered the knife into your body. You have got to stop sneaking up on me like that.” A soft chuckle from the person behind him is his response. “Sorry, little breeze,” he puts his chin on Anika’s head, happy about their height difference – he’s only a few inches taller than his quick husband but it’s just enough inches for him to be able to simply stretch his neck and rest his chin against Anika’s head. Anika curses the malnutrition of his childhood that he was never really able to recover from even after his birth family and chosen family found him, not enough to get him taller than his beloved could put his head on top of his. He doesn’t mind the hug, makes him feel safe and warm after years of being cold, but he despises the chin on head thing Giotto has a tendency to do, makes him feel small and like a child. The feeling’s even worse when the others do it. Luckily, they learned fairly quickly not to do it but Giotto hasn’t gotten out of the habit. In fact, it’s only gotten worse since they married, especially once Giotto got stuck in his office 90% of the time to deal with paperwork.

“Beloved,” Anika smiles sweetly yet sharply.

“Yes?”

“Get your chin off of my head before I disembowel you with this pan of uncooked lasagna.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Giotto sulks as he removes chin from Anika’s head.

“I need to put this pan into the oven. Are you going to move with me or am I gonna have to jap you in the stomach to move you myself?” Giotto unwraps his arms from Anika’s waist, both of them immediately missing the warmth of the other, moves to the corner to let Anika work, and sulks. He just managed to finish all the paperwork, while Anika was making dinner. His right and left hand both throb, twitch, and burn in pain from the overuse and work Giotto had put them through doing the work so fast.

Anika puts the ready lasagna pan into the burning oven and checks his watch, mentally calculating what time it would be after 27 minutes. (Timers won’t be invented until 1926, it’s the 1800s here.)

“What kind of lasagna are you making?” Giotto asks curiously as Anika gets started on the next batch of lasagna.

“Cheese lasagna. We don’t have the right kind of meat for meat lasagna, there’s only chicken and pork in storage right now. Carlos is going to do a market run for meat in two days. We have everything else to make any dish as long as you don’t ask for a dish that requires any meat other than chicken and pork.”

Giotto nods in understanding, “Ok, I’ll tell the others then. In 2 days?”

“Markets aren’t going to be restocked, especially with meat and fish, until tomorrow – now of the stores are gonna be open during that of restocking and cataloguing. So yes, Carlos is going on a market run for meat in 2 days, possibly even later if the market hasn’t stocked up on meat yet.”

Giotto ‘ah’ed in understanding.

Later, during dinner, all the Guardians and other members of Vongola including the street urchins were gathered together for mealtime. A rule set up Vongola Primo, that everybody from the lowest ranking member to the highest sat and ate together at least during dinnertime. Nobody worked during this time and was in the dining room, even the servants sat and ate with the field and department agents. Dinnertime was the time when everybody was equal and thus treated equally as mandated by Primo. They had a similar system set up during their teen years before Vongola was even a light in Primo’s and his Guardians eyes when they were just starting out in fighting the system and protecting the innocent. Neither Giotto nor the original Vongola members had wanted to lose that moment of comradery and moral boast that mealtime always brought, so it was brought over to Vongola.

It was rarely a quiet affair, always boisterous and energetic, especially when all the Guardians and street urchins were there. There was always someone yelling or laughing or shouting.

Not for this time though. Dinner was quiet and dark for one of the street urchins had just come in, pale face and shaking with tremors not caused just by running. It was obvious that she had sprinted all the way to the Mansion, but the fear was just as apparent in her eyes and body language. The street urchin, Teresa Vernengo (from Piemont before she lost her family and ran) if Anika remembered correctly, had stated she heard a foreign man – of Italy but not from their town – speaking about an invasion, an attack, towards “Vongola’s Beloved”, his family, and the Vongola Family by striking them where it would hurt the most. Everybody thought immediately of Anika for, other than the town and their vigilante group themselves, Primo’s only Beloved was Anika. Anika, however, thought definitely – he thought the attack would be verbal and mental, a psychological war towards attacking Anika over not being able to bare a heir for Vongola, despite having both reproductive parts to be able to have a child.

He told everyone as much. “Rather than an actual attack against us, they are probably going for psychological warfare. Tearing at my defenses by striking at my own weakness that I myself have allowed to fester – the fact that I have not been able to produce a child and thus a heir for Vongola despite very well having the parts to do so. By attacking me, the so-called “Vongola’s Beloved”, in this way, I can only think they believe it would weaken me, letting them take me while everybody else is distracted by the apparent physical attack they sent to the town, causing Giotto to be hesitant in striking back for they have me in their hold. These people probably think that with me gone and Giotto indecisive, that Vongola will be weak and easy to destroy or take apart.”

“Anika…”

Everybody is looking worriedly or indifferently or nervously at Anika. Giotto, under the table, grabs Anika’s hand and squeezes it comfortingly, knowing how uncomfortable Anika is about talking about his inability to provide a heir. Not that Giotto cares, he’s only 23. Even with their hard lives, he has at least another 5 years to live before his lack of a heir starts to be worrisome. He has too much to live for and too many regrets to make up for, to die in battle or succumb to his wounds. If nothing else, His Will and Resolve alone (with hopefully all of his Guardians and his husband by his side) will get him through the next 5 years before no heir apparent or potential heir becomes troubling.

But, he mentally shakes his head to focus back on the conversation, he is worried for his beloved’s life. “Little breeze,” he softly says, fear of losing his love curling in his stomach and burning acid in his throat. He’s not hungry any more.

Images of him finding his love’s ruined and bloodied body, of staring into dead, empty eyes that once were filled and glowed with life and resolve, burned and swirled wildly, unbind, through his mind. He clutches the hand in his hand, a reminder and anchor that nothing has happened, that Anika is still here, by his side.

Anika stares him down, flames burning his blue eyes into a mix of orange and blue – creating a sun rise affect that used to (still does) fascinate and amaze Giotto into an awed and determined silence. Giotto goes quiet, seeing those eyes. “I am not weak. No matter what others may say. Neither mental nor physical damage will move me to a stillness long enough for them to even touch me.”

“Except when they shoot you in the heart,” Asari states quietly.

“Then I will be dead and they will have no leverage to stop Vongola from striking back in revenge. The Underworld and the Government want me dead? Fine. I knew full well what I signed up for when I joined our team and when Giotto proposed. You all did as well when you joined or created this group of ours.” Anika looks at all of them in the eye.

He continues quietly, yet in the silence of the room they all heard his next words, “I know well that there are chips and cracks in my armor and in my heart, I accepted long ago that there are damages in me that Time has given up on healing and that are only healed now because I found people to help fix the cracks and holes. You all know well that there are cracks and chips in your own armor and in your heart – you know and learned the same as I when it comes to those hurts.”

Everybody looks down, then looks up when Anika firmly and bravely states, “However, I am a Vongola. I will not back down just over some rumors and information about a psychological and physical fight!”

Everybody straightens up as Anika’s Flames briefly brush against Giotto’s, letting him know it’s his turn. “Anika is right. We are Vongola. We knew full well what we were getting into when we declared that we would protect the People from anybody including the Mafia. There are so many things that could go wrong and so many lives that could be lost. We will handle this information the same way we handle all information – like it’s a precious and rare piece of pearl. Do not let it out that we know about their planned attack. Gather information. Warn and prepare the civilians for possible evacuation. Protect our home.”

Everybody, grim and determined, nods, knowing their roles and key parts.

Giotto finishes his speech like he always has with his Famiglia speeches, “We are Vongola, the clam shell that protects, we will not, we can not fall.”

All the Vongola members shout and cheer in agreement and strength, rejuvenated through Anika’s and Giotto’s speech. Their speeches always were well-compatible with each other, always seamlessly integrating into the other’s like a well-oiled machine even with on-the-fly speeches like just now. Everything they need to say is stated by the other and vise versa. But both can easily make a statement without having the other saying their own statement, they just simply prefer making speeches/statements together (especially those on-the-fly, suddenly in the spotlight speeches that many celebrities find themselves having to make).

A plan, backup plans, and backup plans for the backup plans, were made in the next few days. Civilians were warned, and with the help of the Vongola Evacuation Squad prepares for evacuation to the several underground bunkers hiding throughout the surrounding forests and mountains at this time. Traps will laid and activated with all of the teams including the Guardians and the civilians trained beforehand to evade them, fight around them, luring enemies into them (in the case of the vigilantes), and still be able to run to safety while not triggering the traps (in the case of the civilians). Even though they already had the land layout memorized, every fighter, medic, and runner re-memorized the layout. Spies and traitors were weeded out quickly and efficiently by Alaude (he wasn’t happy about working with Deamon but in this situation, he grit his teeth and got to work), Elena, and Deamon, not wanting to go through with the backup plan for the backup plan so trying to take out any potential people who would force the Contingency Plan to take hold and be called for by Primo. The other Guardians worked with the Squadrons over their jobs during the possible attacks. Knuckle with Teresa and the rest of the street urchins took to the streets, gathering more information (Knuckles making sure that any information he gets isn’t given during Reconciliation, of course) and keeping Primo updating. Anika, the servants, the civilians, the non-fighter type Squadrons, and Primo made sure that everything looked like it was business as usual to any outsiders.

There is a tension in the air they tried to their best to hide from outsiders, the weight of that tension on their shoulders like a vice and a damning guillotine.

Anika is helping Giotto with the paperwork. He stops for a moment and stares blankly at the folder in his hand. Giotto looks up and stops signing. “Anika?” He asks worriedly. Anika takes in a shaky breath, “Are you really going to send me away?” His voice almost cracks as he asks this. “Oh, honey,” Giotto puts down the pen, gets up out of the chair, and takes Anika into his arms as he shakes with repressed tears. The file falls to the ground as Anika desperately grips the back of Giotto’s shirt. “No. It’s only a just-in-case plan. I and the others are working tirelessly, right along side with you, in making sure this town is safe, you are safe, and Vongola still stands,” Giotto soothes.

“But – you will send me away if it gets bad,” Anika responds. He moves his head back to look at Giotto, anger in his brow but fear in his eyes. Giotto knows immediately what Anika fears and closes his eyes. He leans his forehead to Anika’s forehead and takes a shaky breath. Then Primo steps back enough to look Anika directly in the eyes. “Yes, we will send you away if it gets bad.”

Anika moves to speak up, most likely to protest but Giotto continues before he can. “However, right here and right now, the plan is secure, we are making contingencies and traps. The corrupt government and Mafia will not get far. It will be just another Friday!”

Anika snorts and smiles at that but the smiles soon leaves. He asks, “Then why the backup plan for the backup plan? Why send me away if it’s just another Friday? Just another attack like they always send. Why do I gotta hide while you are fight?”

“No, you will be fighting with us but if they are after you, then they’re after your power.”

“Well, you got it too! So do the Guardians and the rest of our members! And the Mafia too!”

“I’m not talking about the Flames and you know it.” Anika falls silent in response, the only other skill that she has that would make the corrupt government and Mafia be after her was her family’s World Sync ability. The ability to match and follow and know the abilities of the animals, the plants, and the Earth itself. Kind of like Giotto’s Hyper Intuition except Anika can connect to the world itself, know what’s happening all the way at the beach and even deep underground. It’s connected to his Sky Flames – something about the Sky knowing all within its sphere. Anika tried to find out what exactly that means and what exactly his ability is, unfortunately the Onde del Vento passed their knowledge on orally, leaving hardly any books or even scrolls behind talking about it – to protect the ability and future generations sure but those future generations are never gonna know because he wasn’t raised in his family until they managed to find them. By then his parents were either dead or too old to even remember/orally pass down the stories and legacy – damn miracle the old man lived as long as he did, long enough to see his marriage, poor guy couldn’t even protest because Anika would still be able to continue the family legacy with him having both parts. He had a brother apparently but he died due to the cholera when he was 8 or 9 years old. Most of what he’s learned and figured out was through trial and error – Anika deeply dislikes those years, usually kept them under lock and key simply out of embarrassment and rage towards his family for not writing anything down. He’d taken many, many, _many_ notes during those experimental years.

Anika makes a face. Giotto chuckles slightly, knowing without asking that Anika had remembered the experimental years. He stops chuckling and sighs when Anika lays his head on his shoulder. They stay there in that position for a moment in silence, both trying to memorize how it feels to be in each other’s arms.

Giotto’s intuition shrieking at him in the back of his head, whispering frantically about ‘danger’ and ‘not safe for beloved’ and ‘taken away’, ‘loss’, ‘empty’, ‘send to a different world for safety.’ Giotto’s suggestion of ‘sending Anika to a different world for safety from these attempts and our enemies’ as a backup plan for the backup plan was brought up purely because that was all that his intuition, among other things, kept ringing the alarms and whispering furiously about.

Giotto’s hold on Anika tightens as the whispers and his headache grew, expression darkening with each word his Intuition speaks. _It won’t happen, I will not allow it!_ He thinks furiously back. _A price to pay for the power we now hold. Something of equal equivalent to you must be given in return,_ his Intuition whispers. _We have claimed Little Breeze as ours – more than our Pack, our Soulmate. The world has seen and we have agreed to protect our precious People to give something of equal value to us back to the world in return for the Power the Rings bare._ Giotto closes his eyes and buries his head into Anika’s shoulder, the tears he’d been repressing this whole week finally falling as the weight of the world falls on his shoulders.

Anika holds a similar conversation with his intuition gifted to him by World Sync and the world. _Why must I leave to this other world?_ The world whispers back, _He asked for Power, you, outside of his People, are everything to him. The Mafia and government, the world will try to take you from him._ He furiously asks back, _Why can’t I hide here? Where I can go, visit, and still be able to interact with my husband?_ Through World Sync, the world responds, the trees outside rifling with the wind that blows past, _Of the other World, your destiny lays. You belong there._ Anika shoots back, _My place is here, with my husband. My People._ The world sighs back, _No. You are of the other world. Your people, that of the Land of Fire and of Whirlpools, of Konohagakure and Uzushiokagure. Using World Sync, your parents brought themselves and your brother – before you were conceived - here to escape from the people who wished to destroy them, from the war that was destroying their home. Your family is of the Namikaze Clan, changed their name to the Italian meaning to fit in. Lost you on the way to a safe town. Now, you must return to that land for it is where you belong._ Anika’s tears fall as he disconnects from the world, returning his spirit to his body. Furious winds and crashing waves of thoughts and ideas whirl and destroy everything in its path until it all comes crashing down. If what the Earth Spirit says is true, then no matter the outcome of the battle, he will have to go through with the Contingency Plan. If the corrupted people don’t get him then the World his family is originally from will. Either way, he will have to leave his love and the people he’s come to know and love behind. His heart breaks as one thought continues spiraling throughout his mind, _Why wasn’t I told before to avoid this heartbreak I now feel?_

The attack comes in the night. Only one relieved thought ran through the Vongola fighters’ head as they grab their weapons and head out to face the intruders: they were severely glad that they had evacuated the town of civilians and noncombatant Vongola members 3 days prior. Deamon made a note to put a bonus in his Mist Squadrons’ next cheque for the rude intruders were completely fooled by his squadrons’ illusions of the town, for it had looked enough like a normal day and night of people unaware of danger. Improvements, obviously, need to be made and extra training for the people who hesitated in what to make, but for illusionists not yet at Deamon’s level, the fact they’d managed to catch the enemy off guard, leading to Vongola having an upper hand on top of knowing the layout of the land like the back of their hand, especially for the amateurs of the squad to do that, made Deamon preen proudly and smile more widely as he cast illusions and massacred mafia members and corrupt officials on the streets from the rooftop.

G and his Combat Storm Squadron at the edges of the town are shooting bullet after bullet and arrow after arrow, Storm Flames after Storm Flames, at the enemy troops, supplies, vehicles, and any enemy backup trying to get in or near the town.

Asari and his Rain Squadron along with Knuckle’s Sun Squadron are back at Vongola Mansion protecting the people hiding there, taking care of any enemies who thought it would be a good idea to attack Vongola Mansion, as well as caring for any friendly injured fighters who were brought back. Some members of the Sun Squadron, including Knuckle, were on the battlefield all over the place, doing field medical work and fighting off any enemies who tried to finish the job.

Lampo and his Lighting Squadrons was on ‘evacuating the townsfolk and noncombatants to the bunkers’ duty, protecting them from any enemies who managed to find them. So, at this time, they are in the bunkers keeping watch of the townsfolk, just in case there were any spies or traitors among them, as well as protecting them from outside force.

Alaude and his Cloud Squadrons are prowling the forests, the town, and the surrounding mountains, attacking any unknowns and enemies and activating the traps in and around the area.

Giotto and Anika, the only members of the Sky Squadron, are in the sky and in the center of town, switching between ground and sky work of the enemy. The two easily fighting side by side and adding each other into their own choreography wherever needed, as they decimated the enemy.

One of the enemies manages to shoot Giotto while he was still in the sky, hitting him in the arm. He cringes as he grips that arm, cutting off the Flames coming out of his hands and transferring the Flames to his feet allowing him to stay in the air. He Flame-kicks the bastard who shot him. The bastard’s neck immediately snaps upon hitting the ground, ignoring the burns the kick gave his entire back. This slip up, this pause, is enough time for another enemy to sneak in and aim at Anika before throwing an entire spear at him. His back being turned away from that as he burns an enemy, trusting Giotto to watch his back and also not having the kind of Intuition designed with the purpose of his survival, did not see the spear coming. Giotto, turning to check on his husband, did. He yells out a warning, not being close enough to stop the spear or throw Flames out to destroy it before it would hit its target. Anika slits the throat of another attacker and is about to turn when the spear enters his body. It goes through the left side of his lower back, scraping his diaphragm and the bottom of his lung, right through to the front. Anika gasps in shock and pain. He looks down to see the spear, grabbing the part sticking out of his front body with his right hand, then falls to his knees. He struggles to breathe, a ringing sound sounding through his ears as behind him, blood growing from his wound in the front and back. Giotto comes down to the ground, killing the bastard who hurt him, then running to Anika, yelling his name. Anika barely registers all of this as his left hand grabs the spear as well. He sucks in a breath and pulls the spear the rest of the way out. “Don’t!” Giotto screams as he finally reaches Anika, catching him when he falls back and dropping to the floor. Giotto screams for Knuckle. Anika drops the spear to the ground. Giotto moves him to his lap as he frantically takes off his cloak and begins ripping it up, using the strips to immediately cover his abdomen and chest as makeshift bandages. He chokes in his tears as he tells Anika off, “You idiot, you fuckin’ idiot! The spear was stopping the blood! I told you to duck, to move out of the way! Not check out who was behind you! I was too far to do anything about the spear, I didn’t even see the bastard who threw it until after he did.” He finishes the last knot of the makeshift bandages as the tears hit Anika’s chest and abdomen. Anika huffs out a laugh as he replies breathlessly, “S- sorry. It… was an instinctive reaction to something hitting my body…” He takes in a breath and immediately chokes on it. He coughs, blood dripping down his chin and cheek. Giotto puts pressure on the exit and entrance wounds with extra pieces of cloth, that he tore from his own shirt, and his hands trying to stop the bleeding that was already darkening the already dark torn up cloak. The extra cloths were slowly starting to darken too as well as his hands. Giotto yells for Knuckle again.

“No, no, no, nononono! Please, Anika, you’re strong, fight it. Live please! I can’t lose you, please,” Giotto begs. The enemy is slowly closing in on them, Giotto not finding the strength to fight them off if it means they’ll kill him as well

Anika looks searchingly at Giotto as the pain from the wound and his own mind threaten to take him down. Vision blackens for a moment then he fights it off, snapping his eyes open and breathing in a shuttering breath that quickly turns into a groan of pain. Anika looks again at Giotto, blinking and breathing through the pain. He coughs up more blood, feeling the blood pool into his mouth again as more drops down his jaw and cheeks. Giotto’s tears land on his face and fall to the floor as his own tears leave his eyes. “I – I don’t wanna die,” Anika says, but resignation and medical knowledge brought on from working with Knuckle for all these years let him know well that Will or not, this wound will kill him if not treated quickly. Judging by the enemies closing in on their location and filling up the town square, it looks like Knuckle wouldn’t make it in time. _I don’t wanna die._ Anika repeats out loud and in his thoughts, anyways. Giotto has begun to curse the fact that Sky Flames aren’t designed to heal, he notes somewhere in his circling and frantic mind. Sky Flames burst from Giotto’s hands which cover his wound anyways. Anika’s Flames rise up in a roar as his _I don’t wanna die_ turns into the Will he embodies. Rising up, they cauterize the torn lung and diaphragm, knowing that it would ruin his body more if they do anything about the rest of the wound, the Flames leave the rest of the wound alone. They burst through and help Giotto’s Flames in cauterizing the surface wound, closing it up by encouraging the blood platelets to hurry up the sealing process. Anika bites his lip to avoid screaming. Then he coughs up the remaining blood that was still in his lungs, turning over as best he can and practically vomiting the excess blood that had managed to get into his lung out.

Knuckles and the rest of the Guardians who are in town showed up, coming through the walls of enemies who had to stop moving or less be destroyed by the combined Will of two powerful Skies. Some lesser still got destroyed or collapsed to the floor by the Skies’ Will. The Guardians destroy the rest of the remaining enemies as Knuckle kneels before Giotto and Anika. The others quickly took up precinct in guarding their Boss and his Love. Knuckle quickly removes the cloak bandages and Anika’s suspenders and shirt. He gets to work on the wound. He re-opens the entrance wound, Giotto helping him hold Anika who can’t hold back his screams from the pain any longer. Knuckles works quickly and efficiently with his Sun Flames which are actually designed to heal in healing the rest of the damage down in the inside. He cleans up the blood and disinfects the wound using alcohol then sews the wound up. He puts a gauze over it and tapes it up. Signaling Giotto, they quickly turn Anika over, he moans at being moved, Giotto shushing and soothing him with his Flames as best he can. Knuckle immediately re-opens the exit wound, uses his Sun Flames to fix the inside damage done in the front, stops and cleans up the blood, disinfects the exit wound, sews it up, then puts a gauze on it and taped it. He then bandages the entire abdomen and chest, adding another layer of bandages – it’s actually 1800s version of medical tape – on top of the first wrapping. Knuckle sighs and sits back once he’s done as Giotto puts Anika back onto his lap in a comfortable position.

“While it was smart of you to use your Flames to cauterize the torn lung and diaphragm, you could have done serious damage more than what was already there,” Knuckle scolds Anika, “I know you did it to stop the blood from getting any further into your lungs but Sky Flames aren’t designed to heal. If you can avoid doing that again, please do, to the maximum. Actually, you know what? Make that doctor’s orders: Do not use Sky Flames to cauterize wounds.”

Knuckle crosses his arms, finishing the lecture with a simple, “I’m allowing this incident to pass mostly without comment simply because your actions in cauterizing the lung and then the surface wound itself might have saved your life… Long enough for me to go and actually save your life. Any later and you probably wouldn’t have made it, to the maximum.” Giotto curls in closer to Anika at that final comment.

Anika smiles cheekily as best he can, looking Knuckle right in the eyes as best he can in his position without aggravating his wound, and responses, “I’m alive.” The others snicker, smirk, snort, or give a huff of a laugh at his cheeky comment. Knuckle sighs and shakes his head, but still smiles and gives a prayer of thanks to God that Anika made it out alive.

The others relax as the fighting comes down. Shouts of victory, praises to God, cries of pain and joy fill the air as Vongola pushes back at the enemy and destroys the rest of them while their backup retreats or gets caught in the traps still laying around. “Looks like we won,” Asari comments cheerfully as he joins the others in the town square. Townsfolk and Vongola noncombatants who had hidden in Vongola mansion are flooding the streets behind him.

“When the fighting had stopped at the mansion, I contacted Lampo. I figured if they had stopped there then they had stopped in the town. Looks like I was correct. He should be here soon with his Lighting Squadrons and the rest of the townspeople,” Asari continues as he comes to stop before the others.

Anika and Giotto intertwine their hands together as Giotto brushes his other free hand through Anika’s hair. Anika smiles at Giotto before he straightens up, Boss mode activated. “Right, good job, Asari. Thank you, Knuckle,” Giotto nods in acknowledgement of what Asari had told him and Knuckle’s healing that had saved his love’s life. “Report.”

The sun was rising from the East.

G, his Right-Hand Man, steps forward and gives a basic rundown, “Deamon and Elena’s Squadrons’ actions had helped wipe out the first wave of attack. My squadron stopped any reinforcements or vehicles or enemies from the official entrances, Alaude’s squadron stopped the enemies who were trying to enter through the unofficial paths – the forest and mountains surrounding us. We took care of the third wave before it could even begin. The second wave was handled by your squadron, Boss, Deamon’s and Elena’s Squadron again, as well as the few Frontline Medic Suns we have here. No causalities for my squadron beyond a couple of scratches and bruises with only 5 being majorly injured.”

“2 causalities from our squadrons,” Elena reports as she walks up to them. “Elena,” Giotto nods in acknowledgement and sorrow over those losses. She leans against Deamon, he wraps an arm around her waist. They both silently and briefly mourn the loss of those 2 Frontline Illusionists before straightening up and carefully compartmentalizing the loss to deal with later after the report and cleanup.

“10 majorly exhausted but minorly injured, 2 majorly injured, 1 causality from my squadron, to the maximum,” Knuckle sadly and softly – for him at least – reports. “All the injured, except Anika, are with the remaining of my squadron who can still work, back home in the infirmary recovering.”

“No causalities, 15 injured – wide range,” Asari calmly reports.

“4 causalities.” Alaude shortly reports.

“No causalities, 1 majorly injured, 1 minorly injured, from my squadron,” Giotto reports back to them. The reminder of his shot arm causes pain to come flooding back from the arm, adrenaline and the fear of losing his precious husband causing him to ignore and not register the pain. He flinches then whines at the pain. A puff of breath on his shoulder causes him to look down to see that Anika, at some point, has fallen asleep. A peaceful yet pained look graces his face as he sleeps on. A smile graces Giotto’s lips at the sight before he goes back into Boss mode and looks back up.

Lampo with the townsfolk has arrived. The townsfolk with the Vongola members who can still work get to work at cleaning up as Lampo joins their group. “Lampo, report,” Giotto orders.

“Yare, yare,” he raises a head to rub the back of his head, dirt, soot, and minor injuries covering his body, “6 minorly injured – none of them townsfolk, 2 majorly injured, no causalities right now but that might change later today due to the fact that one of the two majorly injured people was on the brink of death last I saw them.”

Giotto nods his head, a serious look gracing his face as he grimly went over the report. “Ok. Someone must have spoken to the enemy because only Vongola and the townsfolk know where the bunkers are – your team shouldn’t have been attacked otherwise, Lampo.”

“Someone talked, alright. He’s taken care of. And before you ask, no. It wasn’t my squadron or myself that took care of him. It was actually townspeople. Needless to say, they weren’t happy when they figured him out. Before we got here, and after we gathered everybody up from all the bunkers to come back to town, news of who the talker was quickly spread to the other townsfolk who weren’t in my bunker. They absolutely decimated him; it was awesome. There wasn’t even a body left to bury when they were finished,” Lampo tells them. Deamon whistles as everybody turns to him.

“What?”

“No offense, dear, but you’re the only person here who would teach people something like how to so completely beat someone up that their body disintegrates,” Elena tells him.

“WH – I would never -!” Deamon tries to say, offended. Elena raises an eyebrow. Deamon crumbles, “Ok. Maybe I would. Fine, I did teach him but they wouldn’t stop bugging me about it to the point I couldn’t even walk around town without them asking me to teach them, that I had to!”

Everybody shakes their head and drops it. Giotto stands up, carrying Anika bridal style. He is about to leave the town square with the Guardians to return home to put Anika in the infirmary and continue the report when Talbot approaches them. Giotto stops and stares at him, then his shoulders slump, knowing what the blind inventor is going to ask of him.

Talbot stares at him sympathetically, “I’m sorry, Giotto. But the Contingency Plan concerning Anika,” He lifts up a messenger bag, filled with things for Anika, Giotto assumes (correctly, much to his annoyance and rage), “Must be fulfilled. Anika needs to go home to his family’s original world.”

Giotto grumbles childishly as his grip on Anika tightens, “No, he doesn’t. Destiny to be fulfilled, my ass. They don’t need him, I do. Mine. I have the ring and the certificate to prove it too, unlike them.”

“Primo,” Talbot warns as he turns around and starts walking to his workshop. Giotto grumbles further at Talbot going and assuming he will follow.

“He’s injured, ya know! Ain’t no guantee they can or even will help him, ya know? He needs ta recover! Can’t do no traveling, injured, ya know!” Giotto calls, his childhood speech and voice tick slipping back into his voice as he desperately tries to find reasons for Anika to not leave him. The other Guardians look at him sorrowfully, not wanting Anika to go either but long having given up on getting Talbot to not do whatever he wants.

“Giotto…”

“They have medical centers and hospitals there!” Talbot shoots down Giotto’s statement.

“So you’se just gonna send Anika, injured, ta another world with nary a chance of our ow’ medicine, cro’s your fingers and ho`e they find ‘im in time to stop any reopening of his w`unds? Ain’t even gonna reg’ster the p’ssi’ity of h`m gonna mo’e injured? Ain’t that a fucked up way ‘bout it. Medical centers and hospitals d’n’t mean nothing if he e’ds up on the streets or the r’ds leading to towns, e’ryb’dy knows - on the streets, injured, ya dead!” Giotto yells back.

The townsfolk carefully don’t pay attention to what is happening. However, all of them are already planning on how to kill Talbot in secret and not leave any evidence behind in response to him hurting their protectors like this.

Talbot stops and turns back to face Giotto. He taps his staff to the ground. “Are you done?”

Giotto blushes, furious and embarrassed that Talbot made his rage and response out to be nothing more than a temper tantrum.

Talbot is about to explain when Anika moans, waking up. Giotto looks worriedly at him, “Anika!”

“Giotto?” Anika asks, blinking his eyes awake, a little dazed and confused. Then the night’s events catch up to him and he surges up a little bit. Giotto immediately adjusts his balance and stops him from dropping out of his arms. Anika’s injury flares angrily to the movement and he cries out in pain and relaxes carefully back into Giotto’s arms. “Careful,” Giotto mutters.

Anika’s eyes look around, “We won?” Giotto nods and Anika relaxes more, adrenaline fading away once again and the pains and aches of a recently achieved wound and a body just getting out of a firefight floods into him. His eyes drift around and find Talbot, he immediately tenses once more. Knowing what he’s here for, a dark expression comes over Anika’s face.

“What’s with that expression, Namikaze? You’ve know for 3 days and nights since the World informed you that the Contingency Plan would be happening whether we actually needed it or not,” Talbot says.

“That’s not my name.”

“Anika?”

“Well, you better get used to it for it was the _original_ name of your ancestors and the name you will be taking up once you go to the other world, the world of your ancestors.”

Anika buries his head against Giotto’s shoulder and closes his eyes, he takes a breath of Giotto’s scent – underneath the grime, sweat, and blood of tonight’s massacre, he can smell the unique scent of his husband: firewood, the smell of the ocean he was never able to get rid of after their little adventure across the seas, the forest of their hometown, spices, the crisp daytime air, and his Flames. All combining somehow perfectly to fit the smell he knows like the back of his hand as Giotto. “I’m a grown young adult. You said for that world, I have to be a child. There is no way that will work out.”

“That world will most likely return you to the proper age,” Talbot replies simply. Alarm bells ring in Giotto’s head. _Oh,_ now _you’re protesting,_ Giotto thinks in annoyance. _Well, too late, Talbot’s set. And most likely, that world will try to take Anika back if he truly is supposed to be there, anyways._ His intuition whines at him but Giotto shuts it down, pissed off.

Anika sighs, resigned to his fate.

Giotto, Anika, and Talbot are now in his workshop, Anika carefully placed by in the machine that will send him to the other world. The other Guardians, having said their tearful/seemingly indifferent goodbyes, were either caring for the injured or helping cleanup. (Yes, Anika does have another orange shirt on, along with his suspenders and a spare cloak the servants had found in his wardrobe. The messenger bag filled with supplies rests carefully across his chest and hip.)

“Hey, Anika?” Anika looks up at Giotto. Giotto looks at him, tearful. He kisses Anika, Anika returning it immediately, arms wrapping around each other. Talbot turns and fiddles with the semantics, giving them some semblance of privacy. They reluctantly separate from the kiss for air. Anika kisses Giotto again, knowing that this will be the last time he will get to do that until he dies. Giotto returns it. They separate again, leaning their foreheads together. Giotto smirks as he says, “Give ‘em hell for me.” Anika smirks, an unholy light igniting in his eyes, as he purrs back, “Oh, don’t worry, they will all feel my wrath for taking me from my home.” Giotto kisses him, kisses down his jaw and neck, biting him between the neck and shoulder, reclaiming him. Anika shudders and bites Giotto’s own neck and shoulder, reclaiming him as well.

Talbot coughs to remind them of where they are. They reluctantly separate, Anika pouting as he carefully moves further into the machine, Giotto also pouting as he gets away from the machine. “I love you,” Anika says, eyes on Giotto, hand raised against the glass that closes around him as Giotto reluctantly shuts the door. Giotto raises a hand to meet Anika’s against the glass. “I love you,” Giotto softly returns. “I will remember you,” they both furiously vow with their Wills, eyes glowing sunset orange. Their eyes fade back to their normal color as Talbot pulls Giotto away from the machine.

Anika slowly waves goodbye which Giotto sadly returns, both of their eyes on each other as Talbot goes to the control panel, turns on the machine, the machine powers on, then he pulls two levers. “There’s going to be a sting and a pulling sensation, brace yourself,” he warns, then presses two buttons. A whirling sound starts up. The machine moves, vibrating, a bright light flashes, forcing Giotto to look away. A strange sound like a ferocious roar of a monster mixed with the sound of a fierce wind storm sounds. When Giotto turns back to the machine, Anika is gone.

The realization that he has lost his husband and that he’ll never see him again hits him in that moment. His knees hit the floor as he breaks down, missing the warmth of his love by his side. He screams in pain and sorrow.

Traveling with Mito-baa-chan was fun, 5-year-old Kushina had long ago decided (meaning several days ago). That was until she realized that they would’ve been in Konoha by now if Mito-baa-chan didn’t have brittle bones that would snap from running so long, even with breaks. There’s only so many stories baa-chan can tell her before she becomes bored again and starts running around the group, keeping within eye sight of the Shinobi guards – Konoha and Uzushio ANBU and regular Jounin Shinobi of course.

Kushina was just running a little ahead of the group when she spotted a flash of blond out of the corner of her eye. She stopped and turned her head. Curiosity taking over, she moved closely. The entourage behind stopped when she did immediately. “Kushina-chan, stop!” One of the Uzu Jounin warned her, “Let us take a look at what you saw first!” But Kushina ignored him.

She moves the bush and grass around to see it is a boy about her age. He had short, spiky blond hair from what she could tell and wore strange clothes over which was a cloak. She blinks in surprise. Then she realizes that the boy is actually breathing heavily and might be in pain. She, as carefully as she’s used to which wasn’t much, she will admit to herself at least, moves him out of the bush and slightly tall grass, closer to the road.

That’s when she notices the blood leaking out of him, staining his clothes. She realizes that the hand holding him from the back feels wet, adjusts his position on her, and removes her hand to realize that it’s blood. _What the hell hit him to get him to have two wounds in the same area but from the front and back?_ She thinks, confused.

“Kushina-san!”

“Ah,” She looks back to the group that has finally gotten over themselves and caught up with her. “It’s a boy. He’s injured. We need to get him to Konoha,” she tells them, “He needs medical attention.”

“Absolute not,” one of the Uzu ANBU, wearing a seagull mask, responds. “The boy could be a spy to either Konoha or Uzushio and I’m not taking that chance.”

Kushina frowns, insulted for the boy’s sake, in response, “He’s a boy about my age! We may be in a war but no genin’s that small or stupid enough to give themselves an injury they could die from just to get inside Konoha or Uzushio! Not only that, there was no guarantee that anybody’d pass by, anyways!”

The Shinobi shift, not wanting to acknowledge that a kid overruled their arguments before they could make them but also knowing Kushina Uzumaki was right.

“We will take the boy with us,” a voice comes from the carriage cart one of the Shinobis were hauling.

“Ah, Mito-sama! Are you sure?” A Konoha ANBU asks.

75-year-old Mito Uzumaki, in response, gets out of the cart. A Konoha and Uzu Jounin immediately step forward to help her down. “The poor boy is bleeding out. Here, Kushina-chan, give him to me.”

Kushina blinks up at Mito who has come closer to her. She silently – which is strange for her – gives the boy in her arms to her Mito-baa-chan. Mito takes the unconscious, heavily breathing and pale boy up in her still strong arms.

“Uzushio Shinobi, did you not see the crest written on the back of the boy’s cloak?”

The Uzu Shinobi in the group straighten at Mito’s attention and shake their heads. “No, Mito-san. We hadn’t.”

Mito puffs out a breath as she begins to walk forward, “Shame. If you had, you would have see our sister clan’s crest.”

Kushina straightens at that and chases after Mito, the other Shinobi following with the cart. “You mean he’s apart of our missing sister clan, the Namikaze Clan!?”

“It would seem so,” Mito smiles calmly while Kushina brightens up and cheers, “We found a member of our sister, we found a survivor, we found a survivor!!!” The Uzushio Shinobi all seem to brighten and lighten up, like a weight had been lifted off their shoulders just from the news.

“However,” Kushina stops cheering. “We must hurry for this boy will die from his wound if we don’t.”

“Who’s going to go ahead?” Another Konoha ANBU inquires.

“I will,” Mito replies, “I may be old, but I have a trick or two up my sleeves to get to places I need to go quickly.”

“Mito-sama/-san/-baa-chan,” the group says in surprise.

Mito smiles as she cheekily says, “Try and keep up” before taking a step forward and immediately vanishing. The wind blows furiously in the direction she vanished in, running so fast that the trees themselves blow and bend down to the side.

The group left behind blink in surprise and shock before they begin sprinting to Konoha after Mito.

In Konoha, in the hospital, Mito and 30-year-old newly-made Sandaime Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, sit in a hospital room together. They stare at the boy laying still unconscious in the hospital bed.

“Are you absolutely certain, Mito-sama?” Hiruzen asks.

Mito sends him a silent look. Hiruzen admits to the redundancy of his question after seeing the boy’s cloak with the, modified, sure, Namikaze Clan crest (the flames surrounding the shield and wind-wave was new), the boy’s blond hair – something which was common in the Namikaze Clan - , his resilience/resolve to continue living despite how long it took for medical attention to be given to him, and the boy’s wind-nature chakra – another trait common in the Namikaze Clan, especially the clan head’s family. He falls silent and looks at the boy again.

“The boy has the same stubbornness common among us Uzushio citizens,” Mito comments after a while. “He was fighting the entire time as I was leading him here.”

Hiruzen hums, acknowledging Mito’s comment and curious about the boy Mito had come to Konoha with through a technique he hadn’t see her use since he was a Genin himself.

Kushina and the entourage had arrived an hour after Mito had arrived, breathing heavily, having sprinted after Mito. They were either resting in their own homes/designated Uzushio apartments, one of the guards somewhere around the hospital room guarding Mito-sama, or wandering around Konoha. Mito’s guards had not been happy about Mito’s decision to go ahead, using a technique she hasn’t used in years to do so. Kushina hadn’t cared, too awed by her grandmother’s ability to care about the fact that she had to sprint without breaks the rest of the way to Konoha.

“I still got it,” Mito had cheerfully grinned and told him as she ran past him to the hospital with the boy the minute she arrived. Hiruzen had been too shocked and horrified at what could have possibly happened to lead to Mito doing that to respond.

It has been two weeks since then.

A moan from the bed snapped both of them from their thinking, they sat up straighter as the ANBU hidden around them snap their attention and focus on the room to the boy. Hiruzen senses his own ANBU paying attention and preparing to make note of what the boy says to go over and test. _Just-in-case,_ Hiruzen thinks un-humorously and darkly at the thought of someone injuring the poor boy just to get inside of either Konoha or Uzushio.

Anika di Vongola blinks his eyes open, adjusting them to the light. He looks around. It takes him a moment to realize he’s in a hospital room, the room looking nothing like the one back home. Confused, he tenses then his memory comes back to him of everything that happened to him within a single night/early morning. Tears immediately fall from his widening eyes as he remembers what, and who he left, behind. He raises his small hands to his face and breaks down. Crying and screaming in pain and sorrow for what was taken from him.

The two adults in the room were startled, not having expected that response to waking up but let him cry it out. Mito moves forward and comforts him, motherly instincts taking over. Nonsensical, comforting words and sounds leaving her lips as the mysterious boy lets out all of his pain and sorrow.

Slowly, he calms down. He brushes away the last of his tears as Mito helps him sit up, adjusting his pillow and bed to let him lean back, giving him a cloth to wipe the rest of his tears and snot away. He thanks her. She smiles as she returns to her seat. The boy sniffs a few times as he relaxes back into the pillow.

Anika thinks, staring at the two strangers before him, having already registered that he’s a child again, compartmentalizing that until he’s alone to freak out. It has finally set in that he will have to give up his old name of his Giotto’s world to fit in. He had heard the words the old lady had been speaking, they were in Japanese, not Italian. His Italian name makes no sense here. _Talbot said that my family’s original name before they had translated it to Italian and changed it to that had been Namikaze. I guess I will start from there._

Once the boy’s calmed down completely without sniffles, Hiruzen decides to begin. “Hello, little one. My name is Sarutobi Hiruzen, Sandaime Hokage, the leader of Konohagakure.”

“I am Mito Uzumaki-Senju, wife of the Shodaime Hokage, Senju Hashirama, formally a Shinobi of Konohagakure, now advisor for the Uzushiogakure and Konohagakure ambassador, and advisor of the Hokage. What is your name, child?” Mito inquires, smiling.

The boy stares at them then a smile graces the edges of his lips as he softly and hoarsely replies,

“Namikaze Minato.”

_My name is Namikaze Minato. If this is to be my new home, I will protect it and won’t lose it like I did with my place by Giotto’s side._


	2. Finding Out About A New World Is Apparently Hard When You're A Child

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mention of the difference between the existence of religion in his old world and the practically non-existence of religion in the Naruto world in the chapter. Just a heads up to those of you who don't like to hear any mention of religion.

After they introduced themselves, the adults apparently had many questions to ask Ani – Minato. Minato was tired, emotionally and physically, and wanted nothing more than to sleep, but he knows that sleeping now is just delaying the inevitable so he agreed to answering their questions while he’s awake. He got the sudden encompassing feeling that he was going to regret this, immediately after agreeing to answering the Hokage’s and Mito’s questions. Suddenly, he was deeply grateful for Asari’s lessons in Japanese or else this would be a very awkward conversation in that apparently, this world only speaks Japanese – or at least some weird dialect version of Japanese depending on what land you’re on.

“What exactly happened to you, little one?” Sarutobi asks Minato gently.

Minato should have figured that was going to be the first question. He thinks for a moment about how to answer then decides to stick to the truth – a reconfigured version of the truth but the truth. “My village was attacked and Old Man” Minato realized they would get suspicious if he used an Italian name here so he quickly made Talbot’s name Japanese sounding, “Tanaki sent me away against” _Sorry, Gio._ “Papà’s wishes.” _G would be laughing hysterically if he knew what I just called Giotto while Giotto would be blushing down to his core and probably burst into Flames if he knew…My husband turned Papa… This never reaches their ears._

“Papà?” Mito mouths curiously, brow furrowing. Minato internally curses – he had said the Italian version of Papa and not the Japanese’s version of Papa. Curse Anika’s wish for children, if he hadn’t pictured the thought of a little one calling him Papà so much, he wouldn’t have made such a mistake. Minato carefully doesn’t show a reaction.

The Hokage doesn’t ask which Minato is grateful for but knows that the only reason why is because it still recognizably sounds like Papa even with the weird accent. Minato internally curses the fact that his family hadn’t taught him this world’s version of Japanese while they were still alive and resigns himself to his fate of always having the village’s suspicion due to him constantly unconsciously slipping into Italian, an unfamiliar language to them. _I hope you suffer in Hell for making me go through this, Talbot._

Knowing that he needs parents in order to keep his story straight, Minato also resigns himself to calling his – ex? Former? – husband his Papa or Tou-san and himself as Anika his Dad? Mom? His – past life? - adult self had just enough of a lithe, feminine build and long enough hair for him to be able to pass Anika off as his mother (man, that’s weird to think about). Guess that makes his _amici_ (masculine)and _amiche_ (feminine)(friends) his uncles and aunts and close family friends. He hopes that his _compagni_ (comrades - masculine) can forgive him for basically calling them old when most of them are – were in his case – the same age. Man, this is gonna be confusing to remember. Minato is glad for all of the espionage and undercover missions Giotto had assigned to him and Elena, he can finally put all that hell training to use outside of a mission setting. _Sure, let’s fool the ninjas, it’s gonna be fun._ Talbot had brought him and Giotto up to date about this world and its history before sending Anika away. How Talbot got that information is beyond Ani – Minato. He doesn’t want to know.

Minato continues with the story once it was clear that the Hokage and Mito-san didn’t have any questions so far. “Some of the attackers managed to get the drop on me while I was running. They killed Old Man Tanaki while he was trying to defend my escape. I saw” Minato decided to screw it and went with calling himself – past self? - Mom, “Mamma fighting off bad guy after bad guy, h – she was incredibly fast. I saw hi – her do this before Old Man Tanaki took me away” Minato reminded himself that he should be saying the Japanese version of Mom, “Kaa-san was killed right before my eyes while I was hiding, the old man found me and got me out of the quickly catching fire building. I didn’t get to see the rest of the village, we ran away so fast, but I’m pretty sure I’m the only survivor. I didn’t see or hear anybody else running away from the village. The attack had been so sudden, most of the village was already destroyed and on fire by the time anybody realized we were under attack. Kaa-san had just enough time to gather only a couple of things and put them in a bag and shove me into a hiding place before the attackers descending on our home.” Minato knew that there were holes in his story, especially if there haven’t been any reports of any attacks on villages, there’s also the fact that some of his injuries might not even line up with his story. Specifically, the hole in his abdomen… At least he had burn marks that match up with his story. He should know, he can feel some of them still screaming that they’re there. Then again, he’s five. It makes sense that there would be holes in a five-year-old’s story. But Minato can only hope that they don’t try to ask him for the details or to fix the holes in the story once he’s older. He doesn’t think he’ll remember everything that he said here.

Sarutobi ‘hm’ed in response and strokes his chin. “I don’t remember getting any reports on a village getting attacked.”

Mito nods in agreement, “I didn’t see any smoke or sign of a village under attack on my way here – and we took the long way.”

Minato shook his head as much as the throbbing pain in his head would let him. Sleep alluded him for a moment. The spear wound throbs. _Ah, whatever’s stopping the pain from registering is fading_ , Minato thought blearily and painfully. Ouch. “That’s because it didn’t happen here. My village isn’t here anymore – they made certain of that. Wiped off the map.” Ah, the need to sleep was back. He fought the urge to close his eyes, wanting to get this interrogation over with. (That’s not how the two adults meant this to be beyond just a witness questioning but fighting Mafia and government for most of your teen and adult life leads to some whacked up thought processes.)

Mito’s and the Hokage’s eyes sharpen at that. The ANBU, unseen, straighten and listen more closely – if that was possible because they were already listening closely. “What makes you certain of that, little one?” Sarutobi asks, softly and carefully.

Minato snickers as his head lays down and his body relaxes, “We had a group of protectors. They didn’t like that. They didn’t like us. So, ka-boom went the village. They wouldn’t have attacked otherwise. But the village was lesser off than others due to trouble we couldn’t stop, that wouldn’t stop. At least, that’s how Pa – Tou-san would’ve explained.” The truth, a version of the truth at least, is a lot easier to tell and remember than whatever lie Talbot wanted him to tell. He can’t remember what it was anyways.

(Back in the KHR world, during Primo’s time, Talbot gets the sudden urge to curse loudly and profanely for no discernable reason. _It’s probably Anika doing something stupid and not listening to my orders,_ Talbot thought grumpily. Giotto, meanwhile, laying in bed and mourning the loss of his love’s warmth gets the sudden urge to laugh at Talbot. _Ah. Anika is disobeying Talbot’s orders. Heh, that’s my husband,_ Giotto thought fondly.)

Mito and Sarutobi stiffen at Minato’s words. “Do you know why?” Mito asks carefully. Minato blinks in confusion for a moment, certain that he had already explained why. Then he shrugs as much as he can.

He pauses, wondering if he can use his Flames here. He can sense their presence and that the Hokage and Mito-san bear no ill will and won’t hurt him if he tried to show them. However, he didn’t know how his Flames would react to this new environment even if this is where his family originally came from, and also if Omerta still applies here. Do the Vindice even exist here? Probably not. So, Omerta probably doesn’t apply here, judging by how casual these adults are acting upon learning about the protector group Minato casually mentioned. A part of Minato wonders just how casual these guys would act if they learned about Vongola, the Mafia, and the Dying Will Flames. He wonders how the Allies are reacting upon learning about his ‘death’. How Giotto is holding up once he learns that he will have to wipe any memory of Anika di Vongola from Vongola history.

(Not well. Locked himself in their shared room for days, crying himself to sleep for weeks, and screaming at his Guardians about having to wipe out all traces of Anika. He’s been holding tightly to the only other cloak Anika hadn’t managed to ruin yet as well as the wooden figurines/furniture he liked to make for years. Vongola learned very quickly – like within a few days – just how many of their furniture Anika had been the one to make. Ten generations later, Vongola Decimo would wonder why the hell Nono warned him and his Guardians against ruining specific old wooden furniture that’s been in the family for generations. He wasn’t told the story about Anika di Vongola until he successfully changed the Vongola back to its vigilante roots 5 years after he took up the mantle, Primo was the one to tell him. Yeah, Primo didn’t take the news all that well. He also did not listen to Talbot’s orders either as you can probably tell.)

His pause must have been pretty long because Mito and Sarutobi are both at the edges of their seats and tensed beyond belief. Minato decides to take a page from Asari and laughs, “I don’t know, it might be because of o – the protectors’ strange powers. But then again, everybody has it, don’t they?”

Sarutobi almost face faults, Mito just gracefully slumps her head to the side and sighs. They assumed the child meant their protectors were Shinobi. Not what he meant, obviously, but at least that line of questioning will stop and he won’t have to worry about breaking Omerta even if it’s a new world.

A silence fell over them for a moment as they recovered.

Before they could ask the next question, Minato fell asleep, not being able to stop his eyes from shutting again. They hadn’t even noticed that he had been fighting sleep to answer their questions. The Hokage sighs but lets the 5-year-old sleep, knowing that he must be in some pain as the nurse hadn’t come up yet to change the IV bag, and tired.

Mito leans back in her seat and ponders all that they had been told as the nurse finally comes around and does their round in the room, checking vitals, changing bandages, changing IV bags, etc.

Sarutobi sighs as the nurse leaves the room, closing the door as he went, “Are you sure this child is of Namikaze Clan blood, Mito-sama?”

Mito side-eyes Sarutobi as she answers, “I may be getting on my years, Hiruzen, but by no means does not mean I’ve forgotten what my sister clan’s chakra feels like. While there is another energy within the child which I do not recognize, the child himself has the Namikaze chakra which, if you were to sense it on the battlefield, would send shivers down the spine of their enemies. I know it. Minato-kun is indeed the last Namikaze, and, if my suspicions are correct as to which Namikaze family he is from, his blood is that of the Namikaze Clan Head Family.”

The Hokage’s eyes widened in shock, “The Namikaze Royals? But they were the first to be exterminated during the First Great Shinobi World War!” Mito’s eyes went sad. “And the Namikaze symbol written in blood in Uzushio will forever remind my people of our failure, a constant reminder that it is presumptuous and deadly to think that Seals, no matter how trained you are or powerful it is, will stop a massacre of your loved ones.”

“Do not tell me of what happened during the First Great Shinobi World War, Hiruzen, I was there when it happened. I was there… yet could only watch through the horrified messages my people sent me as the Namikaze Clan, a powerful yet forever small clan, was exterminated through the use of our very own Seals and the use of the Jinchuuriki,” Mito turns to fully face Sarutobi, sorrow and shame dancing in her eyes and face, “There wasn’t a single Konoha or Uzushio Clan during those horrifying Four Days that wasn’t mourning or horrified or ashamed as one of our own was destroyed using the very so-called ‘weapons’ we had made. It was near the end of the war yet it felt like it was simply another declaration, a decimation of an entire clan just to boast about how powerful you were.”

Hiruzen closes his eyes, remembering the horror he and his classmates had felt when they had heard about the Namikaze Clan and what had happened to them, “We tried to get revenge, the Konoha and Uzushio Clans uniting to fight back and get those people to pay for what they had done.”

Mito didn’t reply, simply turning back to watch the child in the bed mournfully. She didn’t have to say anything.

It had been a massacre.

It had been three months since the initial questioning. Minato had been released from the hospital only three days prior and, with the help of the Hokage, had gotten an apartment. The Namikaze had a compound in Konoha, having been a primarily Konoha/Hi no Kuni-based clan although they did have a spot in Uzushio and a Main Headquarters Compound where most of the clan members lived based on a land between Hi no Kuni and Uzu no Kuni. How they managed to get three compound quarters even though they only had 100 members every 4 generations was beyond the comprehension of anybody else. Then again, according to Mito-san, there was always at least 2 families in each compound – two families in Uzushio, two families in the outside of a village compound, and two families in Konoha – and the other members not a part of these families either lived in one of the two villages or switched between the compounds depending on how much closer the compound was from where their mission took place. How the bastards who killed the Namikaze Clan managed to kill everybody, except apparently Minato, when they were this spread out was anybody’s guess. Mito-san says that the Namikaze during the week of the Horrifying Four Days had an important Clan-only festival, she doesn’t know what the festival was about because she’s not apart of the clan, happening which everybody in the Clan if they weren’t on an important mission or on the battlefield had to partake in. So that was probably how. And then the remaining members just slowly died off either due to injuries or sickness or the First War and then later on the Second War. (Minato was not happy when he found out that within the span of 58 years two Wars between the Hidden Villages which were only 48 years old had already happened. Like, how? How? It even took freaking war-crazed America, back in his world, 200 years before they decided that they didn’t want to be tied down by the British anymore and started a freaking Revolution for it. Why? Why? Why would you purposely start two wars between villages, most of which haven’t even finished building the entire village by the time of the First Great Shinobi World War.)

Anyways, the Hokage had said that since the DNA test had tested positive in the realm of Minato being a child of the Namikaze Clan – Minato did not want to know where they got the blood to test his blood against – then that made Minato eligible to inherit and live in the Namikaze Clan compound here in Konoha. He said that they hadn’t converted it into anything or even tried to take it down and use the space – something about keeping the history and having an empty compound stay as a constant reminder of another one of the village’s many failures to protect its people, apparently it was the only thing left Konoha had of the Namikaze for Uzushio had everything else except for whatever was in the Main HQ, which had been burnt down to the ground. So, Minato could live in the compound, Minato agreed to live there for he was used to living in a huge mansion anyways and needed the privacy it would provide for him to practice his old world’s techniques without anybody noticing though he knew it would take him a while to get used to the silence. The apartment he lives in currently as a cleaning team and construction crew – all of whom were trained to ignore and not touch anything that looked even remotely like clan stuff – cleans and fixes the old compound was silent anyways.

Mito-san had asked Minato if she could bring some Uzumaki kids and adults over for him to meet and play with later on once the compound is finished being fixed up, as the older folks in Uzushio were the only ones to remember the Namikaze and the kids and adults deserve to know who their sister clan was beyond the stories. Minato had agreed, as he wanted and craved the company, but had warned her that they should probably not have many expectations as he was not raised with the Namikaze Clan techniques, lifestyle, or beliefs. She agreed, smiling happily yet mischievously. Minato did not want to know.

Minato sat at his desk in his temporary apartment, studying all of the things which is common knowledge in this world – things that kids learn from the parents or see around them every day. He has one week to catch up and learn everything about this world that a 5-year-old should know before the Academy year starts and he has to go to school.

That was a weird thought. Back home, everything that he learnt was either common knowledge, knowledge gained through trail and error, the tutors Deamon and Lampo insisted upon hiring and teaching the non-noble members all the education lessons a noble is taught such as math, reading and writing, and science, and knowledge that you gain from living in the streets and listening to the people around you, and any fighting lessons also comes from the streets, trail and error, and tutors Deamon and Lampo insisted on hiring once they joined. The idea of going to an actual school and actually learning from a classroom setting was a strange one that street urchin Anika was wary and unsure as to how to react to. But the idea of learning the same way that so many of the middle class and upper class Vongola members had was something that Minato embraced. He was determined to not be left in the dust simply because he was not trained or taught the same way as his future classmates – even the civilian kids are going to be ahead of him in the department of normal education. The competitive side of Minato/Anika was not having any of that. So, studying up and retraining his Japanese it was. Once again, Anika silently thanked Asari for teaching all of them Japanese and constantly bombarding them with Japanese questions, conversations in Japanese, culture questions, reports written entirely in Japanese, and Japanese literature lessons, and doing those things on a weekly basis even if it occasionally pissed Giotto off for giving him an additional language headache on top of the paperwork headache he was already sprouting and complaining about. Otherwise, this would be a lot more difficult and harder to explain why he doesn’t speak the language that everybody all of this world apparently speaks.

Minato isn’t happy about having to once again detrain his hard-earned instincts and skills and then retrain them to fit the way of these so-called Ninja which is apparently this world’s version of protectors, mafia, soldiers, and assassins. Minato was glad for this chance to learn something new but that wasn’t going to stop him from cussing the Pure Land out of Talbot the next time he sees him, which will probably be in the afterlife. The Anika side of Minato was sure that Giotto was already way ahead of him in the realm of cussing and cursing at Talbot. (Spoiler: he was.)

Minato focuses back on his studies, shaking away thoughts of his old life before they can drag him under and cause him to break down in the middle of his empty apartment. Minato notes that there doesn’t seem to be a religion that anybody in this world, expect for a few civilians and some ‘deranged’ shinobi (you have to be pretty deranged for even the other ninjas to call you deranged), really focused or worshipped. _Strange that this world has barely any religion at all yet back in my world you couldn’t walk three blocks without stumbling upon at least one temple or church or house being used as a mock worship area until they finish building an actual worship around_ , Anika muses. _With this world having these so-called Bijuu, you would think there would be at least 3 healthy religions blooming happily in at least 3 or 4 villages, maybe even in 2 Hidden Villages. It makes sense that the Hidden Villages with their ninja seeing or doing some pretty dark stuff wouldn’t really have an religious base or following beyond just the belief in an afterlife called the Pure Land, but you would think the other villages would have something of a religion that at least expands on the idea of the Pure Land,_ Minato thinks, interest peaked. It is rare in his old life to see non-religious people, especially in the small town the Vongola were based in, so to see an entire world and realize that hardly anybody in this world even believes that there is an afterlife was a strange and interesting thing to stumble upon. Anika wasn’t sure if he will be able to keep up such a mask of not believing in something, especially with the existence of the Bijuu and the legends surrounding them and some of the stories that the Shinobi apparently tell the village children whenever they can (watered down and child-proof fictionalized of course). Anika grew up surrounded by religious-strict, religiously-inclined, religious themselves, religious when it’s convenient for them, and not-exactly-religious-but-definitely-superstitious people, different types of religious but all of whom were religious enough that it definitely influenced their beliefs and ideas. People who influenced Anika even when he was still a street urchin. And Anika himself can admit to believing in some way bits and pieces of the many religions he grew up surrounded by. Even some of the things he believes in to this day was probably in some way influenced by one of the religions that thrived in his old hometown. Anika didn’t think they could fake being non-religious like the rest of this new world was. But Minato was determined to try because he had made it sound as if the town he grew up in was apart of this world and he was determined to stick to it. Even if he couldn’t understand how these people were non-religious when they had fricking Bijuu and all of these legends and stories that sound exactly like the kind you would hear about in a church, temple, mosque, or shrine. He’s not gonna say anything because that will ruin the past he has craved for himself to explain why he had the injuries he did. _I should’ve said I don’t remember or I don’t know when they asked me what had happened,_ Minato thought briefly before shaking it away. He made his choice, now he should just stick to it and move on.

The Academy school year has started. Here Minato is, walking into his new class, wondering if he’s going to be alone or if he’s going to gain friends. Wondering if he’s learned enough about this world to not slip up and be ostracized for it. _Well, only one way to find out._ He doublechecks that he found the right room, nods when the number on the plague matches the number on his schedule. He steps into his new classroom and takes a seat on the row close to the door, taking the aisle seat on the third row. There are already people there and more stepping in and taking their seats. It wasn’t hard to figure out who was a member of a clan and who was a civilian kid. _I really, really hope the Clan Kids were never told about the Namikaze Clan because then I’m going to be judged for not acting like a Clan Kid even though I wasn’t raised by my ‘Clan’. If they do figure it out, cross my fingers and hope Deamon and Lampo’s lessons on acting a noble and all those years of being a part of Ally meetings and Famiglia Meetings will carry me through in acting like a Clan Kid, especially a Clan Head Family Kid which Mito-san apparently thinks I am._ He silently prays as he pulls out the supplies Mito-san had helped him purchase days ago, then pulls out a book to read to pass the time until the teacher shows up. Hoping that it will signaling to the rest of his classmates that he doesn’t want to talk right now.

The burn mark on his left shoulder burns as he moves, he absently scratches at it then tells it to shut up. The fashionista inside of Anika, brutally burned and beaten into him by Elena, Deamon, and, surprisingly, G, burns in indignation over having to wear hoodies to cover up the scars the attack on his old town and the traveling between dimensions had caused. At least the foundation Mito-san had kindly bought for him helps hide the scar on his cheek and jaw so that he didn’t have to continue wearing the gauze to cover it.

Minato reads the book until the class is full and the teacher enters the classroom.


	3. A New Chapter - Middle and End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the last chapter.   
> Warning: allusions to sex   
> Italian spoken: "My love, my sky husband... oh, how you would have loved him... it hurts, Kushina, it hurts so much." Yes, I used Google Translate. I don't speak Italian and don't have any Italian speaking friends.

And so, Minato grew up, thinking passively and melancholily about his old Family, but slowly, very slowly, with each new friend he gained and the family he grew, he moved on.

He didn’t forget. And made sure his children grew up with not only the Namikaze legends and stories but the beliefs, legends, and teachings of Vongola, spoken to them in the – now secret – language of his past husband and Family.

Kushina Uzumaki joined his Academy year 3 years after he entered the Academy. The World gave whispered warnings to him about an attack towards her Clan. Remembering the stories left behind in his Clan’s library about their sister clan, of the Uzumaki, he goes to Kushina and she brings him to Mito and her Uzumaki guards. He delivered the warning before Mito-sama and the Hokage, ignoring that he had interrupted a Council meeting. When asked how he knew, he – in a flash of mischievousness donned from years of being Giotto’s husband – had looked at them weirdly and told them matter-of-fact and as if it is something everybody knows how to do that the World had informed him about this planned attack. Mito-sama, having grown up hearing stories and seeing for herself the World ability of the Namikaze, responded that she would send a warning to her clan. Minato left then after being assured by Mito that it would be handled as she turned to the Council and went to work in forcing (read: bullying) them to send reinforcements, supplies, and warning to Uzushio.

Uzushio survives the attack and Konoha’s and Uzushio’s relationship remains strong.

Minato grows in his knowledge, kept nurturing his Flames and intuition to the best of his abilities when surrounded by paranoid Shinobi, and strengthened his natural speed, learned Shinobi skills. Got coined the name The Fierce Lion Phoenix of Konoha after accidently unleashing his Flames in a moment of unrestrained fury and fear upon his teammates getting badly injured years before the (second) coining of his name in the Bingo Book as the Yellow Flash. Apparently, according to the survivors of the attack, he looked like a ferocious and protective lion defending his cubs but he also kept “coming back to life” in a flash of fire and fire wings “like a reborn Phoenix”. And, to Minato’s relief, the survivors had assumed he had used Namikaze specialized fire techniques (not knowing that the Namikaze were only skilled in fire seals when it comes to actual fire) and with his teammates unconscious and Jiraiya-sensei having not been there when the attack took place, Minato’s secret was kept safe. Kushina, Fugaku, Jiraiya, the Hokage, his own teammates, and the Shika-Ino-Cho team all laughed at him weeks after the attack when news of his new Bingo Book nickname reached Konoha. (Minato, years later, upon finding out that Kushina and he were apparently married according to Uzumaki customs, prayed that his children found out about his original Bingo Book name – getting laughed at by his own yearmates, his sensei, and the freaking Hokage had been bad enough.)

Minato was told by the World about Sakumo and what had happened. He immediately went to the Council meeting and the Hokage where Sakumo is giving his report, and shut down any attempts to discriminate Sakumo or make him feel bad for saving his teammates. He told them, in no uncertain terms, that secrets meant nothing to dead people, that they lived in a Shinobi world and when you have an entire world built on secrets, deceit, and lies, it’s no surprise when the entire thing collapses the moment one secret is revealed. He told them they could stick it where the sun doesn’t shine if they were going to hurt somebody for doing the honest thing. Secrets can be bluffed, secrets can be taken back and given out, secrets can have secrets within the secrets, secrets can be brought back to life,” he had retorted to them, “Secrets mean nothing when there’s nobody there. You can fix a secret. You can’t fix a dead man. Somebody can go home to their family because of his actions – would you rather have a funeral instead? You think a box full of secrets is better to have than a person returned safely to their loved ones? You all are the real monsters here. A box of secrets means _nothing_ to a family that has to bury another one of their own. Nice, rub the fact you care more about a box of secrets than your own family in my orphan face!” Need-less-to-say, he gave every single person who discriminated Sakumo in that area a dressing down, verbally abusing them for daring to even suggest that it would have been better for Sakumo’s teammates’ loved ones to have buried them than Konoha’s clan secrets getting sold out.

Once the War started, all of Konoha, not just the ones verbally (sometimes physically) abused by Minato for their cruel words, shut up about Sakumo saving his teammates. Within a few months, even with Uzushio still being around, Konoha learned very quickly why Minato hates people who suggest a box of secrets is better than not having to bury your loved ones. “A box of secrets means nothing to a dead person” quickly became a popular allusion for Jounin to use to remind or teach their Genin team the importance of protecting their teammates and making sure everybody comes back home alive and not kidnapped, as well as not attempting to prioritize the mission over a team who will die in a few hours if not returned to Konoha immediately.

Tsunade had taken advantage of people’s realization of this fact and once again demanded that there be a medic-fighter in every team and that First Aid, Field Medicine, How To Diagnose, Strategize, and Heal Wounds, Poisons, and Sickness to the Best of Your Ability While On A Mission (HTDSHWPSBYAWM or How To DSH for short), Medical Plants and How To Utilize Them, and Injury Dianosce be a part of the main Academy course. The War had the Hokage punching all of the Council Members into silence and agreeing. Tsunade had drafted it up and, with the help of her law trained friends and Minato’s intuition (much to Jiraiya’s protest, he didn’t like it when Tsunade took his students for her own use), made sure there weren’t any loopholes for any of the “old fleabags” to use to their advantage nor give them a reason to shut the program or the use of field medic-fighters (“all medics should at least be able to self-defend themselves and their patients, including but especially the non-Shinobi-trained medics”) in every team down. Tsunade wished sometimes that her Great Uncle hadn’t given the Council so much power and had simply regulated them to already-in-place Civilian and Shinobi Departments to keep watch over.

The War ends anticlimactically after the bombing of the bridge. Thanks to the World, Minato had simply severely injured the enemy Shinobi enough that the remaining Konoha and Uzushio shinobi could restrain them, then had flashed to where the kids were, in time to kill the last enemy Shinobi who in turn wasn’t able to complete the Earth seal. He then had flashed Rin, Obito, and Kakashi out of the cave. The cave collapsed behind them as they left for the bridge. Minato flashed back to the battlefield where the Shinobi had just finished off tying the last of the men. Once he was sure that they could handle the travel back, they went back to Konoha (Uzushio for the Uzushio ninja who also had their own group of prisoners), meeting reinforcements who could help stop any attempts to escape even further, Minato met up back with his team in time to catch up with them as they were running away from the blown up bridge. The War ended within a few weeks after that, all of the Hidden Villages tired enough from war and burying loved ones that every single citizen – ninja and civilian alike – turned up to their leader’s office and basically forced all of them to make a truce and not cause another war again at least for another 3 decades. Uzushio, especially, demanded at least a century before another war was caused, having had to fend off a second attempt at destroying them. Everybody killed their Village’s respective warmongers, including any rich bastard who might cause a war just to gain more money, before they could say anything or try to get out of this 3 decade – a century truce/peace. Any attempts, half hearted or other ways, from the warmonger’s colleagues or newborn warmongers were sniffed out at the bud by the war-tired people of the Hidden Villages and the other villages that had to deal with the blunt of the Hidden Villages’ bullshit. The leaders, especially the leaders with a scary wife/husband and the leaders who were sick of war, agreed and (for the most part) gladly made a truce. Shinobi would do their thing, people would try to stop it, but none of it would trigger war. Everybody memorized then buried or burned clan secrets and village secrets so that nobody could steal any important secret that could potentially cause a war to break out. Minato, after much discussion with his year mates who grew up in Clans, had made the decision of taking his Clan’s library and sinking it underground, burying it and, using Seals with Jiraiya’s and Kushina’s help, effectively making it inhospitable and destructive towards anybody who is not of Namikaze blood or bares the Namikaze tattoo (given to people who marry into the Clan so they can access Namikaze places and information, even if they do not bare the Namikaze name – unfortunately for anybody who had married their child for Namikaze secrets, these tattoos are designed to where one cannot talk secrets without someone of Namikaze blood’s permission). This effectively protected Namikaze secrets without Minato having to burn any of the few pieces of what would have been his Clan he had left.

Kushina had been in awe when she set foot in the Library for the first time after marrying Minato. Not surprising for the Library, outside of the compound itself, held the only pieces of history, culture, religion (that had been a surprise to find out about for Minato), and lifestyle the Namikaze’s had before their destruction. Not even the compound in Uzushio – what’s left of it at least – has any information on the Namikaze, just empty rooms occasionally filled with scattered or broken supplies of which every home in Uzushio had. The compound outside of Konoha and Uzushio is nothing more than a burnt crisp of a field with a few scattered rocks here and there the vague position of a wall or a street left to signal there had been something there.

When people say that Konoha and Uzushio is incredibly overprotective of the last remaining Namikaze and the last still-standing useable Namikaze compound, they aren’t joking. There have been people who were nearly brutally murdered on the spot for even staring at Minato in the wrong way. Minato grew up exasperated by all these overprotective people but also fond towards them – they reminded him of when Vongola had been just a fledgling and Giotto and he had been newly wed husbands.

Kushina’s presence and (relatively) patient approach at getting his love helped him greatly in healing – he had asked her to wait until he’s ready to date after he rescued her and she had. At the time of the kidnapping, he had still been longing for his first love, Giotto (Giotto the same by the time he had moved to Japan 2 years after Anika’s universe-jumping), though a small crush, cultivated in response to Kushina’s love and acceptance of his Flames, had developed towards Kushina which Minato had been resolutely ignoring by the time of the kidnapping. After the kidnapping, he acknowledged his crush but asked Kushina to wait if she truly thinks their crushes will develop into something more and to move on if she doesn’t think it will, to not wait. Kushina had chosen to wait. That waiting and their easily developing friendship – which had become best friend status for both of them by the time they both were Jounin – paid off for Kushina. The crush, for both of them, became love by the time they both had taken on a team. Girlfriend and boyfriend by the beginning of the Third War. Accidently married due to Kushina unthinkingly teaching Minato an Uzumaki custom and then doing said Uzumaki custom with Minato which actually registered them as a married couple according to Uzushio and the Uzumaki Clan, for the custom was something couples did as a replacement wedding ceremony for whatever reason, by the time all the Hidden Villages forced their leaders to make a truce. Actually married according to both Uzushio and Konoha customs (having already done Uzushio’s marriage ceremony by accident, they only had to do Konoha’s to be married in the eyes of Konoha) by the time the Hokage decided he wanted to retire, a few months after getting unintentionally married. Married for two years by the time Sandaime dropped the responsibility on Minato. Married for 3 years by the time Minato finally worked up the courage and told Kushina about having both reproductive systems – meaning he had a penis and can get pregnant –. Married for 4 years when Kushina found out about her pregnancy, told Minato about Kyuubi and what that meant for the pregnancy, and Namikaze “Has Been Trying To Have A Child Since He Was 18 In His Old Life” Minato, having recently been told by Tsunade that he was fertile and able to carry a child full term, responds that he will carry the child in her stead. 3 weeks later, with Tsunade, Biwako, and her assistants’ help, they get the baby safely transferred from Kushina’s womb to Minato’s.

Having only imprisoned, having healed his prisoners and released them after the War, returning them to their homelands, Minato didn’t have to worry about enemy shinobi coming after him in vengeance. Having a scary reputation as not only the Yellow Flash but also the Fierce Lion Phoenix of Konoha, and an overprotective village who would ran horrors upon anybody who attacks their Hokage/lone Namikaze, also helps in the realm of stopping enemy shinobi from stopping Minato and Kushina from sharing the same last name and letting their child bare the name. There had been a big fight as to what their last name will be: Uzumaki-Namikaze was their compromise. Nobody was surprised.

The news about their Hokage being pregnant, when everybody thought the married couple was going to wait for at least 10 years of marriage before having a child, did come as a surprise though. Kushina loves looking back at the memory and getting a laugh. The faces Konoha citizens had made upon learning Kushina had knocked up Minato to the point of getting him pregnant will forever be Kushina’s favorite memory to look back on and laugh. It took her 2 days after the announcement to get Minato out of the house, him being depressed that everybody had actually thought Kushina had knocked him up rather than what had really happened which was having the baby transferred over to him. It doesn’t help that he had to clarify and have Kushina come up and confirm for the villagers to believe that the baby had just been transferred over for him to carry instead of Kushina “due to her body not being able to safely carry a child for 10 months” (that was the explanation they came up with to explain the reason for the transfer). Kushina still to this day uses that fiasco as ammo when she wants to see Minato’s face turn a cherry red and for blackmail. Unfortunately, also thanks to that day and Kushina’s constant bringing it up, Kushina was forbidden from touching Minato’s ass for at least 3 years. Any attempts to try and touch it anyways during the first couple of months was met with Minato disappearing for hours and returning, satisfied, having just spent Kushina’s earned pocket money on baby supplies and feeding himself and the baby. Kushina wept for her lost money and resigned herself, eventually, to at least being able to look at the ass and not able to touch it.

And yes, the moment the restriction was lifted, she did indeed immediately pounce on Minato and claimed him. … repeatedly. Don’t ask how, Minato doesn’t want to know how she managed to penetrate and claim him anal style. He’s just glad he had the foresight to have Kakashi, Rin, and Obito take care of Naruto for the entire day. … He’s also glad he made it two days of babysitting.

When baby Naruto was born, the whole village all but worshipped the very ground Naruto was carried through. Kushina was disturbed until Minato explained that it is probably because Naruto is the first Namikaze born in almost 30 years who will actually be raised by the Namikaze Clan – now three members. Actually, scratch the until, Kushina was still disturbed but at least she knew why. She just didn’t understand because there are a ton of clans in Konoha, why are they focused on Minato’s clan? She could understand her family’s caution and careful observations and such but why all of Konoha, especially the other Clans? Minato explained to her that a Clan under a Hidden Village’s protection which had suddenly disappeared and then been reported destroyed without any explanation for how or why is something no Hidden Village ever wants to experience. Not only is it losing an entire people, but it’s losing someone who had trusted you to protect them and you had failed without even becoming aware until it’s too late to do anything. A failure is what it makes you feel like you are. Then years later, a survivor arrives, out of nowhere. An actual survivor whose DNA Test reveals he actually is and isn’t just a faker sent by an enemy. A survivor that doesn’t know anything about their Clan nor was aware that there was a Clan but a survivor. A survivor that crushed any hopes of other survivors due to his report as to what had led to his hospitalization but a survivor. Of course the Hidden Village now in charge of that survivor would be overprotective and cautious and pay attention to the survivor. They don’t want to lose the only chance of redemption they have. Of course they would be glad and celebrate not only the leader’s labor survival and the child’s survivor but that same Lost Clan survivor’s survival of labor and his child’s survival, of not having a miscarriage or a stillborn and being able to continue the once-thought-lost family legacy and bloodline.

Kushina could understand that. If it hadn’t have been for the warning the World had sent Minato, Kushina would’ve been an orphan right alongside Minato. Probably just as desperate as Minato and the Village to make sure her family’s legacy and bloodline got carried into the next generation.

As Minato watched Naruto grow up into a fine young man and a determined Konoha Shinobi, watching as he gathers allies and friends by being himself and changing the world on step of the way, Minato couldn’t help but think, melancholy and deep-seated trauma and sorrow breaking and constricting his heart and lungs, that Naruto would’ve been a child Giotto and Anika would’ve gladly called theirs, would’ve glad raised right alongside Vongola.

In the privacy of their bedroom, Minato, having told Kushina about his past life a few years past, whispers to Kushina, teary-eyed, “He would’ve loved Naruto. He would’ve loved any child I’d’ve given him. _Amore mio, mio marito cielo… Oh, come lo avresti amato… Fa male, Kushina,  
fa così male._” Kushina could only hold Minato tightly that night. Anger towards Talbot, happy that she got to meet and have Minato, anger towards herself for thinking such a thing, longing to meet the man Minato loved so much, a stranger to her whom she will never be placed above, she wants to know what so attracted Minato’s old self to this Giotto, jealousy, ridiculous jealousy, that Giotto had managed to take Minato’s heart away before she could sweep him off his feet, all these feelings and more raged a war within Kushina’s heart as she held Minato that night. She knew, deep down, that, no matter what she did, she will never replace Giotto, she will never be put on a pedestal as high as Giotto is within Minato’s heart. She is only glad that she was able to claim him, Minato, not Anika, here and now and be there for him and love and be loved by him without having to face Giotto’s wrath for taking his husband. That night was the night when Kushina was finally able to separate Minato and Anika in the same way Minato had years before, except she did the wife/husband version: _You have Anika di Vongola, Giotto, you always will. But Uzumaki-Namikaze Minato is mine and always will be, even if he still looks at your memory with melancholy, love, and sorrow. Minato belongs to this world, Anika belongs to that world. And as long as Minato is in this world, he will always be Minato and thus he is my husband, baggage and everything._

And Kushina had decided long before they were even married that she was okay with that.

On the day that Minato passed on, 10 years before his own wife, with two children and many grandchildren and one great-grandchild, he found himself in a field. Dressed in some kind of mix between Anika’s typical clothing and Minato’s typical clothing, barefooted. About the same age that he had left Giotto’s side in, age 23.

“It’s been a long time, love,” a voice of which he hasn’t heard in years and barely recognized spoke up not far from in front of him. Minato looked up. His breath hitched.

There, a few feet before him, presenting the same age he had been when he had left him, was his first love and husband, Giotto di Vongola. Smiling that same soft, _true_ smile which had always been reserved for Anika and Anika only, as if they both had just woken up from restless dreams and were lying next to each other in bed, right before they were supposed to get out. Wearing the same clothes, including his cloak, he has worn since Vongola became an officially recognized Vigilante organization.

Giotto speaks up again, when it became obvious that Minato wasn’t going to speak up, “It’s… been almost 200 years in my world since you left. Time really sped up when I didn’t want it to, I guess.” He rubs the back of his head in that cute way Anika had always found endearing and Minato had longed to see one last time for a long, long time.

Minato spoke up, voice creaking as tears filled his eyes, “It had been almost 95 years for me. …I - … a lot happened. …I had two children; I bore them because my wife couldn’t. I was so happy to finally have a child to care for and love… yet so angry that I could bare a child so easily in that world and with Kushina, yet never could with you.”

“It’s okay, love,” Giotto replied, soft smile playing once again.

Then it faded as tears filled Giotto’s eyes, as these two lost lovers looked into each other’s eyes, drinking everything in. Then Minato took a step. Then another. Then another step. Until he was full on sprinting and jumped into Giotto’s arms, ones which gladly opened up to hold him. Many tears of joy and sorry were shed in that empty field, as the two lovers collapsed to the ground and held each other tightly. Broken, untreated hearts finally completely and fully healed, not just closure led by separation, but actually healed.

In that empty field filled with nothing but the sky, two separated lovers reunited held each other and told their stories. Then once closure and healing were completed, they walked hand-in-hand to the afterlife.

When Kushina passed 10 years later, she found herself on that same empty field. She found herself brought into the same loving embrace by not just her husband but her husband’s husband. She found herself easily and steadily falling in love with Giotto in that empty field with nothing but the sky, in the same way Minato had described to her how he feel in love with Giotto, as they spent days, weeks, months, years, time meant nothing in that place, together there. Soon enough, Kushina, Giotto, and Minato/Anika were walking hand-in-hand, all in peace and in love with each other, to the afterlife.

Love is easy to cultivate and furnish when you have all the time, determination, Will, and patience in the world, after all.


End file.
